Helicopter rental company sues estate of pilot killed in crash
The business that rented a helicopter to a pilot who was killed in an October 2019 crash has filed a lawsuit against the man’s estate.
The lawsuit, filed Friday by Airwork Las Vegas Inc. and Binner Enterprises LLC, claims that 53-year-old Scott Socquet “negligently piloted the helicopter,” causing the crash on Oct. 23, 2019, at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area that killed Socquet and 27-year-old passenger Howard Jameson.
“Because the accident resulted in a total loss of the helicopter, Plaintiffs were unable to rent it out to other pilots until the helicopter was replaced, resulting in significant monetary losses,” the complaint states.
Attempts to reach Jessica Socquet, named in the lawsuit as a defendant and representative of Scott Socquet’s estate, were not successful Monday. The case was filed in Clark County District Court.
On the day of the crash, the helicopter that Scott Socquet piloted was found to have sediment in its fuel, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board released in November 2019.
A mechanic was supposed to check the helicopter after the fuel issue had been reported, but that apparently did not happen, according to the report.
The day of the crash, Scott Socquet and Jameson arrived at the North Las Vegas Airport and were told that the helicopter was in maintenance after an earlier flight had been canceled because of the sediment in the fuel tanks, the report said.
About 20 minutes later, a certified flight instructor who had canceled the earlier flight indicated “that the maintenance was done and the helicopter was ready to fly,” the report said.
Scott Socquet took off from the airport at 3:35 p.m., and crashed within 20 minutes just off of state Route 159, north of the Red Rock Canyon entrance sign.
The helicopter had made several maneuvers over the conservation area, “including a possible touchdown where the forward airspeed was reduced to 0 knots,” the report said.
Just before the crash, the helicopter was flying about 500 to 700 feet above the ground, at about 120 to 100 knots, the report said.
An inspection of the wreckage showed no indication of catastrophic failure with the engine. Fuel screens in the chopper were clear of debris. But investigators learned that a signal system on the rotor connected to the cockpit that relied on two magnets was missing one, the report said.
The National Transportation Safety Board has not released a final report of its investigation.
The lawsuit did not mention the sediment reported in the fuel, and did not say how Scott Socquet was allegedly flying the helicopter negligently. Lawyers for the helicopter rental company did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Monday.
“Scott Socquet breached his duty to Plaintiffs by not taking due care in operating the helicopter, by operating the helicopter in a careless or reckless manner, and by operating in a manner imminently dangerous to persons or property,” the lawsuit states.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
